Black Semi posts timetable for making graphene optical chips
Black Semiconductor GmbH (Aachen, Germany) has said it plans to be producing optical communications chips based on graphene at a pilot line in 2027 and to transition to volume production over subsequent years.
The German federal government and the State of North-Rhine-Westphalia are making a large bet on 2020 startup Black Semiconductor by committing to provide €228.7 million in funding to the company.
Black Semi claims to have the technology to co-integrate photonics and electronics using graphene devices to convert electronic signals into optical signals and vice versa. It envisions applications for its technology in high-performance computing, AI data centers, autonomous vehicles and robotics.
Black Semiconductor’s process is ‘back-end-of-line’ photonics manufacturing that supports on-chip optical signal routing and fiber-to-chip interfaces for chip-to-chip connections. The technology supports bidirectional electro-optic conversion with data transmission rates of up to 10Pbits/s possible, the company has claimed. At the same time the technology is compatible with CMOS ‘front-end of line’ manufacturing, the firm states.
Last month the company has moved into FabONE its 17,000 square meter headquarters and manufacturing site and said the timetable for production is as follows
- 2025: Start construct of a scalable pilot line for 300mm wafer technology.
- 2026: Pilot line to become operational.
- 2027: Pilot production commences to optimize manufacturing processes.
- 2029: Transition to volume production, achieving full volume production by 2031.
The FabONE building provides 15,000 square meters for cleanroom and manufacturing infrastructures and 2,000 square meters of office space. The company has 50 employees based in FabONE with room to expand to 100 employees by the end of 2025
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